If you are looking for a less expensive way to pave your patio with natural stone, you might want to look into reclaimed patio paving stone. “Reclaimed”, means that the paving stones have been removed from their original installation, and are being resold. This can mean big savings in many cases, though you have to be careful because sometimes reclaimed stone doesn’t lose much value, and in rare cases actually increases in value. Read more for patio ideas and paving ideas.

This can be because newly quarried patio paving stone will have a fresh look to it. Over time it will scuff and scar, molds and lichens will find nooks and crannies to invade, and in general the stone will just take on a somewhat different appearance. This “aged” appearance is sometimes preferable to the new and fresh appearance of quarried stone in it’s own right, and also will allow the home owner to match the look of the stones to the rest of the landscaping into the future. But in most cases you will find that reclaimed stone is a good source of patio paving stone at discount prices.

There are some reasons for this. For one, reclaimed stone can be rather rough and damaged after being torn from it’s mortar. There can be unsightly stains as well. Perhaps the biggest issue though is that in the past there weren’t always as stringent of tolerances as far as dimensions are concerned. Reclaimed stone may vary in it’s dimensions much more-so than freshly quarried stone will. This can make laying the stone a hassle by disallowing some techniques like scree bedded pavers. Still, there are techniques that you can use to make use of such stone, and not all reclaimed stone will suffer from this drawback anyways. By applying a careful eye to the stone before you purchase it, and you can catch these sort of problems before they become yours.